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Commerce Dept. grants $880k for Rose State cybersecurity center

Students walk to class on the Rose State College campus in Midwest City Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. [Jim Beckel/The Oklahoman archives]

MIDWEST CITY — Rose State College has been awarded a grant to help build a cybersecurity center for training future members of the workforce.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded a grant worth $880,000 for the Oklahoma Center for Cyber Security.

The grant will be matched with $3 million in local investment. Officials said the center is expected to create 23 jobs and generate $100,000 in private investment.

“This project will increase the number of individuals trained to work in cybersecurity and support the expansion of businesses in this growing industry cluster,” said John Fleming, assistant secretary of commerce for economic development.

The project will expand the George Epperly Business Building to include the Oklahoma Center for Cyber Security. It was also made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments. EDA funds the association to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs, the Department of Commerce said.

Already this year, Rose State opened a cybersecurity testing site for students and professionals seeking certifications and received a $96,000 grant to build its Self-Paced Cyber Security Laboratory.

The lab is expected to accommodate the large number of students enrolling in Rose State's program. Fall 2018 enrollment reached nearly 300 students, an increase of 15% over the previous year. The college offers an associate's degree in cybersecurity that can be completed online, in class or with a combination of both.

Dale Denwalt

Dale Denwalt has closely followed state policy and politics since his first internship as an Oklahoma Capitol reporter in 2006.
He graduated from Northeastern State University in his hometown of Tahlequah. Denwalt worked as a news reporter in...
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